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Learn how to implement differentiated instruction in the classroom to effectively respond to student diversity and promote student achievement. Discover strategies, supports, and extensions that can be used to engage and challenge students at various skill levels.
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The Well Developed Classroom Blog: Everyday Differentiated Instruction: Using Supports and Extensions to Increase Student Achievement Differentiated Instruction is the thoughtful response to diversity in the classroom. The Well Developed Classroom, New York City Public Schools Bondie, R. 2010
Differentiated Instruction begins when a teacher perceives student diversity that will either strengthen or pose challenges for effective and efficient learning.
Diversity may be valued and promoted making a stronger learning community Provides Strengths • multiple perspectives • variety of interests • ways of learning • specific skills such as drawing, building, speaking, moving, writing, speaking multiple languages • leader and supporter preferences • logical and creative thinking • spatial and sequential organization skills
Poses Challenges • low reading levels • missing background knowledge • unknown vocabulary • needed sequential thinking skills • weak basic math skills • misconceptions • missing procedural knowledge • unfamiliar interpersonal skills. Diversity may need to be minimized or eliminated because it prevents students from achieving learning goals.
Differentiated Instruction is NOT:meant to be an “event” that is planned for over weeks at time, to be delivered once, for an observation or a Quality Review. something that occurs at every moment of every lesson. Differentiated Instruction is:embedded in the regular planning, teaching, and assessing cycle. daily instructional decisions guided by an understanding of the goals of differentiated instruction.
Goals of Differentiated Instruction Differentiated Instruction has these desired results: • DI ensures that each member of the learning community is engaged, valued, and stretched. • DI is precise instruction that results in efficient and effective learning within the established curriculum. • DI is part of daily classroom culture focused on developing relationships among people, building curricular understanding, knowledge, and skills and valuing diversity.
Differentiated Instruction is the thoughtful response to diversity in the classroom. The perception of student diversity and teacher response is continuous throughout lessons. Response Extension Assigned project choice board instead of whole group lessons and homework Perceived Diversity Shows mastery of objectives in upcoming lessons Response Support Students developing reading skills read highlighted text and use summary note taking form for this lesson. Lesson #5 Perceived Diversity Range of reading levels Lesson #4 Lesson #3 Lesson #2 Lessons Lesson #1
Three ways to respond to diversity Remediation – continue to work on objectives from previous units that have not been mastered while moving forward into the next unit. Seek to develop missing skills, knowledge, and understanding that are necessary to progress in learning. Supports – provide structures that enable students to learn new content without being hampered by learning challenges. The learning challenges will be addressed in another lesson. Often learning challenges are addresses when the content of the lesson is a review for the student. When the content or material of the lesson is new to the student, providing supports for learning challenges enables the student to focus on acquiring the new information, skills, and understanding. Extensions – provide stretch for students who have mastered the objectives being taught in a lesson.
Four examples of Differentiated Instruction Learner Grouping for Review Adding Supports and Extensions Remediation of Skills from a Previous Unit Continuous Assessment and Purposeful Grouping • Notice how these structures for teaching and learning increase the precision in teaching resulting in efficient and effective learning.
Learner Grouping for Review Problem A typical “whole class” review or “going over” problems with the entire class together may result in very few opportunities for students to think. Often, time does not permit the teacher to go over every problem so students end up taking the problems home to study that they do not understand. Solution Group students by the learning goals that they need to review. In this example, all students receive the same review assignment, but students will be grouped by the learning goal that they need to review. The teacher will visit each group during the review lesson to share a mini lesson on the needed learning goal and review assignments related to the goal. Students continue to work on the review assignment until the teacher comes to their group.
Learner Grouping for Review • Management Tip • When there isn’t time to move students into groups or the room is too small then there are many options other than moving students into different groups. • Possible Options: • Teacher circulates:Teachers write different independent practice assignments related to specific learning goals on the board. Students are assigned or choose the assignment that they need to work on and begin while staying in their seats. There will be students working on different assignments in each group. The teacher circulates among the students to assist and offer feedback. • Teacher gathers small groups of students at a table or area for short mini lessons: All students begin working on independent work at their normal seats. The teacher conducts 15 minute mini-lessons reviewing different topics at a table or area of the room. At the beginning of each mini-lesson, the teacher calls out the topic and students needing to review that topic join the teacher at a table in an area of the room. Students not involved in the mini-lesson continue to work. In between the mini lessons, the teacher circulates around the room assisting students with independent work.
2. Adding Supports and Extensions Problem A pre-assessment reveals that some students would need support to accomplish the learning goals of the upcoming lessons and other students have clearly mastered the skills being taught. Solution The teacher will assign supports and extensions for Lessons #2 and #3 then everyone completes the Review and Test/Project. The supports and extensions might include: • different types and levels of reading material on a given topic • problems or materials that review a previous unit as supports • problems or materials that provide a different perspective • comparison of the topic under study to another topic
2. Adding Supports and Extensions 1 2 Notice the structure: 1. The teacher is using the same type of supports and extensions for two consecutive lessons. This enables the learners to practice using the supports or extensions and save time in teaching a new routine for the classroom. 2. The supports and extensions in this example stay focused on accomplishing a common goal for all students that will measured through a test/project. Therefore, it is likely that the expected homework or product for Lessons #2 and #3 will be the same for all students. For example, students may read different texts but they will answer the same five questions with written responses or students may use different graphic organizers to complete a set of problems, but the set of problems would be the same for all students.
3. Remediation of Skills from a Previous Unit Problem The Culminating Assessment revealed that some students need remediation or a review of the previous unit while going forward with the next unit. The Culminating Assessment from the previous unit serves as a pre-assessment for Lesson #1 of a new unit. Solution In this case the teacher divides the students into two groups for three lessons. Group 1 might be both reviewing the previous unit and practicing missing skills while learning the next unit. Group 2 may be moving on to the next unit and completing a related project.
3. Remediation of Skills from a Previous Unit Management Tip The teacher may have a co-teacher who is working with one group or the teacher may organize the class so that Group 1 is doing independent practice or partner feedback/activities while he/she is teaching Group 2 and then the teacher switches his/her focus to the other group. Is this effective? The teacher and students will know this differentiation was effective if all students succeed on the Culminating Assessment. In this format, the homework assignments for Lessons #1, #2, and #3 are often different.
4. Continuous Assessment and Purposeful Grouping • Problem • A pre-assessment shows that students vary in a way that is important to address through Lesson #1. • Possible ways the students may vary that offer strengths or pose challenges: • different interests in the topic and they will be grouped by interest for Lesson #1. • misunderstandings of concepts or missing skills that will be needed for Lesson #2. • different previous learning experiences with the topic that if reviewed in Lesson #1 will make acquiring new information in Lesson #2 easier. • There are many different reasons why a teacher may group students in this way following a pre-assessment.
What might this look like in different classes? In Social Studies the groups could be studying deeply the people, places, or events related to a topic and then regrouping students for Lesson #2 to share that background information as everyone learns more about the topic together. In Math, students might be grouped by ability for Lesson #1 reviewing basic skills with one group related to the topic under study, exploring the topic with another group, and extending the topic with a more complex application or comparing the topic to another topic for students who have already mastered the skills and don’t need an additional lesson. In Science class each group may have a different research question for the same experiment. In an English Language Arts class the groups may be reading texts on different reading levels related to a common theme.
3 2 1 Notice the structure: 1. The key here is the differentiation in Lesson #1 enables everyone to engage in Lesson #2. 2. The importance of assessment is highlighted in this example. After Lesson #1 the teacher checks to make sure that the differentiated instruction was successful with a Pre-Assessment before starting Lesson #2. 3. Before the Project there is another Pre-Assessment. This assessment may determine interest. The ongoing nature of perceiving student diversity through assessment and then responding to learning needs through differentiated instruction is clear in this flow of teaching and learning.
"I never teach my pupils; I only attempt to provide the conditions in which they can learn." Albert Einstein Use these example structures or other structures to respond to the diversity that you see in your classroom through precise differentiated instruction. Post your questions and comments in our blog on ARIS. The Well Developed Classroom Blog: Everyday Differentiated Instruction: Using Supports and Extensions to Increase Student Achievement
Reflect on your learning about Differentiated Instruction. Write one change in your thinking about differentiated instruction using the prompts below. I used to think . . . Now I think . . .
